Nightmares

Sarah knew she was dreaming. For one thing, instead of being in bed, she was on a beach, yet it still felt eerily familiar. Suddenly she heard gunshots and a scream and ran towards the noise. Her mother appeared in front of her, holding her three year old self. She was covered in blood and was frantically fleeing from her pursuers, her sapphire necklace dangling from her neck.

"Mum…" she whispered and started running after her. This must have been the day of her mother's death, she was only a toddler, but the memory of it was so powerful that she repressed it all these years. Bullets were flying through the air, but Sarah was unaffected since it was just a dream. Her mom let out a gasp as she collapsed onto the ground. Sarah caught up with her mother and saw that she was bleeding. A group of unsavory men dressed in ragged clothes were quickly approaching them. Mei Lin tried to protect her daughter as she wrapped her tightly in her arms. The men surrounded her and snatched Sarah from her.

"NO!, Let her go, she is innocent!" Mei Lin shouted, tears streaming down her face.

"MUM!" Sarah rushed to protect her mother, but she awoke at that moment. She sat up from her bed in a cold sweat; Sarah touched her face and realized she was crying. She hadn't cried in her bed ever since Edward's departure. "Edward…" and the tears began flowing again. This time he was really gone and she was truly all alone in this world. Her father's plans were running smoothly, everyday he had Davy Jones under his control, which meant more pirates were being killed and the closer he was to domination of the seas. Her goal in life in the beginning was to help her father anyway she could. Beckett would soon achieve his vision of a new world order dominated by the East India Trading Co. She had succeeded in every aspect according to her father, so why did she feel so completely hollow. Finally she managed to drift off to sleep, and had no further dreams.

She awoke to the sound of the birds' chirping outside, but was abruptly struck by a wave of nausea. Sarah promptly headed to her personal sink and vomited. Her maids were worried about her ill health, but she told them she was merely adjusting to the Caribbean climate and not to worry her father with trifles. Sarah knew she couldn't keep her pregnancy a secret for long, she was beginning to show. She had to keep it hidden until the baby showed signs of quickening, when the baby could start kicking, so that her father couldn't force her to abort the pregnancy. The child was the only thing she had that linked her and Edward and despite her recent bouts of depression, she felt a growing fondness toward her child.

She headed towards Fort Charles to report to her father, but she saw that another round of executions was beginning. Anyone associated with privacy whatsoever lost all of their legal rights and were immediately sentenced to death by hanging. She knew it was cruel, but her father argued that extreme precautions were necessary. "It is merely the sacrifice of the few to save the many, never lose sight of our goals, Sarah."

Still, Sarah felt of sense of disgust as she stared at the massive pile of boots gathered from the executed.

"The king and his men stole the queen from her bed…" a young boy began singing.

"Hoist the Colors…" Sarah recognized the song that called upon the Brethren Court. The hangman grabbed a barrel and placed the boy atop of it so that the noose could reach his neck.

"What are you doing? That's a child you're about to hang!" Sarah rushed to her father as if he went mad.

"That child was found assisting a man suspected of piracy," retorted Beckett.

"Then hang the man instead!" countered Sarah.

"Lord Beckett! They've started to sing sir." announced Lt. Groves.

"Finally." responded Beckett.

Sarah stood by as she watched them hang the group of people. "Never shall we die…" She swallowed back her tears and asked her father, "We're going after the Brethren Court now, aren't we?"

"Yes, Mercer and I will meet up with Jones, we've been having a slight problem with him killing every pirate and not leaving us anyone to interrogate." explained Beckett. "I expect you to remain here and keep an eye on things."

Sarah merely nodded and left the fort. A new shipment of soldiers seemed to be arriving for her father from the King every day; she wondered if her father would ever be satisfied with the amount of power he would be given.

"Um… excuse me, are you Lady Sarah?"

She looked back and saw a young man, barely out of his teens with light brown hair and a nervous expression.

"Yes, what do you want?" she asked.

"Um… you knew an Edward Hollings right? He wanted me to give this you when he found out I was reporting to your father in Port Royal. I heard about his ship gone missing, I'm sorry m'lady." He handed her a package, bowed, and followed back in line with the other soldiers.

Sarah stared at the package, Edward knew that the two of them were being watched carefully and went through great means to deliver this to her. She immediately headed back to her room and opened it.

She found three things: a letter from Edward, a necklace, and a rolled up document.

Edward's Letter

Dear Sarah,

I hope this letter finds you quickly and in good health. I do not have much time, your father's men will soon find me missing so I must be blunt. When I finished my training, I quickly went back to the manor and broke into your father's office. I knew your father planned it so that all of you would've left for Port Royal by now so that we could not see each other together. I picked the lock on the secret safe your father kept beneath his desk. I found only two things: this sapphire necklace and this torn contract. I do not know what any of this means, but I know you will figure it out for yourself. Remain strong and keep your faith in me, we will be together again.

Love, Edward

She started crying as she read the letter since it was the last thing he had written to her before his death. The Augusta was found on the rocks as a complete wreck, and there were no survivors found. She gasped as she examined the sapphire necklace. It was the exact same one she saw in her dream! The one she saw her mother wore… She quickly unrolled the contract and read it carefully.

"No, it couldn't be… What is the meaning of all this?" but the words were right there. It was a contract between her father, Cutler Beckett and… Sao Feng, the Pirate Lord of the South China Sea. "How? My father made a deal with a pirate!" She saw that it was dated before her birth and the subject of the contract was… Mei Lin Feng.

"It can't be possible, how could mother's maiden name be Feng, she was probably a wife or concubine of Feng's that he sold to father…" Unfortunately the contract was worn and a huge piece of it was torn off. Sarah knew what she needed to do to get answers, "I need to leave for Singapore immediately…"